Pretty much anything but a promotion winning campaign would have been seen as a failure before the start of the season following Aston Villa's relegation from the Premier League.

At times this season, Villa looked like they even had the potential to get dragged into the bottom three but the side have picked up five wins from their last six games, leaving them eleven points above the drop.

Barring a miracle, the Villans shouldn't get any near the play-offs or the relegation places so the focus can now very much be on a rebuilding job for next season.

Steve Bruce arrived in October so has had limited time to put together his own squad, so there are still a few players who remain at Villa Park that haven't even come close to the starting lineup.

In this article, FLW writer Tom Rawcliffe will discuss TWO of these players in greater detail...

 

Libor Kozak

At 27 years of age, forward Libor Kozak is not featuring anywhere near as often as he would have hoped to for the Villans following their relegation to the Championship.

It looked likely that the Czech striker would leave in the January transfer window, but him and the club made the joint decision to stay at Villa until his contract is up in the summer.

With the hot form of Jonathan Kodjia and the recent big money signing of Scott Hogan, it looks unlikely that Kozak will ever feature for Steve Bruce or the Villans ever again.

Micah Richards

Much like Kozak, centre-back Micah Richards is still waiting to be handed his first appearance by manager Steve Bruce.

Life in B6 has been pretty miserable since his arrival in 2015 as he featured 24 times in Villa's relegation season and has been limited to just two appearances this season.

It's pretty much a mystery as to why the former England international is still on the books at Villa Park, but the likelihood is that he will also leave at the end of the season in search of some regular playing time.

Villa fans... Do you agree that these players should have gone a long time ago? Or do they deserve another chance in the first team? Have your say in the comments section below!